Mounting assembly for fluorescent fixtures



A. O. LOCKE MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR FLUORESCENT FIXTURES Oct. 2, 1951 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 15, 1947 gwuam fma And raw 0. Locke I Oct. 2,1951 A. o. LOCKE 2,569,859

- MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR FLUORESCENT FIXTURES Filed Sept. 15, 1947 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Andrew .0. Locke Patented Oct. 2, 1951 MOUNTING ASSEMBLYFORKFLUDRES CENT FIXTURES-r Andrew 01 Locke; Denver; C616.Applicatio'nzSeptembenz13, 1947iLSerial Nb773fl44c 4 Claims; 1

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in mounting,assemblies for fluorescent fixtures.

The invention relates particularly to an improved mounting means whichfacilitates installation-of a fluorescent fixture.

The. usual fiuorescent lighting fixture has considerable weight andbecause of its relative length is more or less bulky and difficult tohandle. The required electrical connection between the fixture andtheelectrical supply wires must necessarily be made.

prior to the fastening of the fixture in its final mounted position onthe ceiling or other overhead support and the bulkiness, as well as therelatively heavy weight, of the fixture present quite a problem inmaking the installation. Further.- more, substantially all of the.fixtures now in general userequire that thefixture be dismantled,..

either partially or completely, in order to permit its installation.

It is one objectof the present inventionto pro-.-

videan improved fluorescent lightingfi'xturehaving means for supportingthe complete fixture in a. position which. will permit. the necessaryelectricalconnectionsto be made, after which the.

fixturemaybe moved to and fastened'jin its final mountedlposition onaceilihgor other overhead-f support,.whereby installation of. saidfixture facilitated and. may be rapidly accomplished without thenecessity of dismantling the fixture orremovingparts thereof "whichmust'lbe later re-attached to the fixture afterthelelectricalconnections are made.

Animportant object of the inventionis toprovide animproved lightingfixture wherein a supporting element or hook, which depends from theceiling-or other surface to which the fixture.

is to be fastened, isadapted to be engagedlby, the fixture and functionsto support'thercomplete unitiin a suspended positionto allow thenecessary electrical connections to be made; said" supporting elementbeing so constructed that whenthe. fixture is moved'into itsfinalmounted position, said element continuesto co-act. with the fixtureto assist in supporting saidifi'xture in suchfinal mounted position.

Aparticular object of the inventionistoprovid e a fixture, of the.character described,.whereinarelatively light hanger member, which may",

beeasilyhandled, is adapted tobe secured to.

the:ceiling-or other. support uponwhich theifixa A tune-proper is; to befinally mounted, together. with coacting means on. the. hanger memberandithefixture proper for. suspending said-- turerin .a positionwith itselectrical connections.

readily accessible. to permitflsaid fixture to be electrically.connectedato theusual. electrical .sup ply. wires, said co.-acting.means also. functioning to.support-the'fixture: inits final position,with. additional means on .the hanger. and fixture for. firmly.fasteningthe. fixture in. said :final position...

stillfanother objectof Itheiinvention is .to pro: vide an improvedmounting for fluorescent. fix; tures wherein..the fixture proper. neednot be ldetachedi'or. removed fitom th'e supporting hanger memberaftrtheelectrical connections are made, the construction beingsuch thatwithoutdetach.-

ment or removal,-the completelyassembled .fi Xr'.

ture unitmay, be readilymoved 'fromitssuspendQ- .ed' position mm its.final. mounted position on the ceiling or othenoverheadfsupport.

A further object' of theiinvention isl-to provide animprovedlmounting.assemblyZ for a .fluores cent lighting. fixture whichis so arranged. that the entire fixture may, be suspendeditherefrom.

whereby dismantling or. partial-disassembly. of"

the fixture is not'requiredin order to permit the' necessary. electricalconnections to be made.

The. construction .designed to carry out the invention .will behereinafter described 1' together with other features .of the invention.

The invention will 'be .moreireadily, understoodl from areadiiigofIthefollowingspecification and by referencev to the accompanying,drawing,,. wherein. an "example ofllthe invention. is shown,andwherei'n:

Figure 1. is-an isometric. .view .of "an improved 1' fluorescentlighting. fixture and lmounting, constructed" accordance with theinvention and" illustrating the. fixture in .a' suspended position Nwhich makes the electrical connecting .wires.

readily accessible,v

Figure 2 'is' a similar view showing-the fixture: in" its finalmountedposition,

Figure 3' is a view, partly in section and part1y.inelevation,with-parts broken away to clear"- ly show the hanger(member and hooks,

Figure 4 islan enlarged, transverse, sectional" view taken=ori -theIlirie' 3 -3 offFigu're" 1; and with" the fixture in'asuspendedposition;

Figure, 5". is a. similar View with the. fixture secured toith'e hangermember in its final 'positiom. Figure 6. is an enlarged; isometric viewof" thescrew and-key. slot connection between the'h'anger member andfixture,

FigureTis an isometricwiew of'i'a modified form of ."hook' which maybe,substitutedi'fbrthe'.

supporting hooks shown in Figures 1to'5'fan'd Figures isfla sectionalview, ,showirigl'stilr'amother. modification ofthelinventionil In thedrawings, the letter A designates a fluorescent lighting fixture whichis constructed in the usual manner and which includes a body portion orshell III, the curved lower portion of which forms the reflectingsurface. As is usual practice, the body or shell is generallysemi-circular in shape in cross-section and a plurality of radiallyextending lamp sockets H are suitably secured to the ends of the bodyand project outwardly therefrom, whereby elongate tubular lamps [2 maybe supported on the fixture. The lamps are, of course, disposed adjacentto the reflecting surface and end caps l3 which are fastened to the endsof the body in any desired manner cover said ends and enclose thesockets ll toimprove the appearance of the fixture.

The transformers, starters and other mechanism (not shown) are mountedwithin the body or shell It in a usual manner and are not shown indetail herein. The usual electrical connecting wires B for makingelectrical connection with the fixture extend outwardly through the fiattop back plate Illa of said fixture. The particular details ofconstruction of the fixtureA form no part of the present invention andany standard type of fluorescent lighting fixture is adaptable to theimproved mounting assembly which forms the present invention. 7

In carrying out the present invention, a pair of longitudinal channelbars l4 and I5 are welded or otherwise secured to the upper surface orblack plate of the fixture A and extend longitudinally along each sidethereof. It is not necessary that the bars I4 and be channel shaped,although it has been found that this particular shape imparts rigidityand strength to the fixture and is preferable for that reason. Theupright leg I40; of the channel 14 is formed with a pair of spaced slotsor openings l6 and the lateral or horizontal leg [4b of said bar is alsoformed with slots or openings Ilia which form a continuation of theopenings 16 in the upright or vertical leg, as is clearly shown inFigures 4 and 5. Immediately below each slot or opening Ifia, the upperwall Illa of the body or shell Iii is provided with an opening I! whichis in registration with the slot. The upright or vertical leg [5a of theopposite channel I5 is formed with spaced key slots 18, the purpose ofwhich will be hereinafter set forth.

For mounting the fixture on a ceiling or other supporting surface, ahanger or supporting plate I9 is provided and said hanger plate isformed with depending longitudinal flanges 20 and 2! on each sidethereof. A central opening 22 is formed in the plate l9 and is arrangedto receive the usual supporting stud 23 which is mounted centrally ofthe ordinary electrical outlet box 24;

The electrical box 2d, as is well known, is suitably mounted within theceiling or other supporting surface 25 and the supporting stud 23 whichextends through the opening 22 in the hanger plate [9 receives a nut 26,whereby the hanger plate is mounted in position against the ceilingorother supporting surface 25 (Figure 3). In such position the flanges20 and 2| of the hanger plate depend downwardly. The electrical supplywires C which extend into the electrical box 24 may pass downwardlythrough an opening 21 formed in the plate adjacent to the opening 22.The plate may be formed with additional small openings 28 'which make itpossible to fasten the hanger plate to the ceiling or supporting surfaceby means of suspension screws in the event that the electrical box withthe supporting stud 23 is not available.

A pair of hooks 30 have their upper ends 4 secured to the dependingflange 20 and as is clearly shown in Figures 1 and 3, the hooks arespaced from each other, being located adjacent opposite ends of theflange 28. Each hook has the upper end of its shank disposedhorizontally as indicated at 30a and is then bent downwardly so as toextend in a vertical plane as indicated at 301). The lower end of thevertical shank portion is curved upwardly to form the hook 300.

As has been pointed out, the mounting and assembly of a fluorescentlight fixture present certain difiiculties because the assembled fixtureA is .relatively heavy andhas considerably length,

thereby making it bulky to handle. It is, of course, necessary that theelectrical connecting wires'B of the fixture be connected with thesupply wires C and while this connection is being made, the fixture mustbe supported in some manner adjacent the location of the supply wires.

With the fixture herein described, the hanger plate H), which isrelatively light in weight is first mounted on the ceiling or othersupporting sur- I face 25 either by the stud 23 as illustrated or bysuitable screws which may extend through the openings 28. The electricalsupply wires C are threaded downwardly through the opening 21 and havetheir ends clearly exposed below the plate.

The fixture A is then lifted into position so as to engage the hooks 300of the hook members I with the sockets or openings [6 in thelongitudinal channel member 14. Because the channel memher is disposedat one longitudinal edge of the fixture A, the fixture will be supportedin an inclined position as shown in Figure 4. In such position, theupper surface of said fixture is readily accessible and the fixturewires B are clearly exposed, whereby said wires may be easily connectedwith the electrical supply wires C. It; is noted that at this time, theentire weight of the fixture is supported by the ,hook members 30 andthe electrican or other person installing the,

fixture need not be concerned with supporting the weight of saidfixture.

the interior of the body or shell through the openings Ilia. and Il.

right leg Ma of the channel bar M to engage over the lateral orhorizontal portion 300. of each hook member so that this side of thefixture is supported by the hook member. At this time, the hook portion300 and the lower portion of the vertical shank 3% are disposed withinthe in- H plate lfla of the shell and as the hooks move disposed,

downwardly into the shell, they are within the guard members 3|.

After the fixture has been moved upwardly to 5 suspend the channel bar[4 fromthe upper end of the hook members 30, the channel bar I5 is movedforwardly and upwardly soas to engage its key slots 18 over'outwardlyextending fasten-7 ing screws 32. Each fastening screw 32 has its innerend threaded into a nut 33 which is welded or otherwise secured to theinner surface of the depending flange 2| of the hanger, plate. Becauseof the key slots N3, the heads of the fas-- I Continued upward move-1 lment of the fixture causes the slot IS in the up-" awa aw ture A-inposition-on the hanger'plate- I91 It -will be evident that i in itsfinally mounted position; the fixture A; has oneside supported" by the:hook members 30 whileits opposite -1ongitu-- dinal side; is supportedby the fastening screws 32:-; Ififor any reason it is necessarytoexaminethe electricalconnection between the wires B and; C the screws32'may be loosenedsufiicientlyto:

p ermitthe fixtureto be moved upwardly and then outwardly so, as todisconnectythe channelbar, I from ,the hanger plate, Whenjthis. is done,the;

fixture may be readily swung to its lower or suspended position, asshown in Figure 4 which clearlyaexposes theupper. surface of saidfixture and permits any desired work to be done on the electricalconnection. It is noted that the hook members may be of any desired;length, al-

though it is preferable that theybe sufficientlylong to provide foraccess to the, upper surface of the fixture when said fixture is in itssuspended posit Y As has been stated; the longitudinal channel bars;l4--and l5 are desirable since they have-the additionalfeature-of-adding strength to the fixture However,- these bars could beonlysufliciently long to accommodate the slots IG which receive thehooksor individual lugs having the slots therein couldbesubstituted therefor.Also, it ;is; not -;essential that the hanger-plate have thelongitudinal fl-ange 2 l]-and2-l since depending lugs, having thehooks30attached thereto and the screws 3 2-mountedtherein would serve theame. pu p In Figures l-to 6"two hook-members spaced apart have beenillustrated-and-in Figure-7 a modified form of a hook element is shown.In this modification a flat type hook member is secured to the centralportion of the flange 20 and the hanger plate l9. In place of the slotsl6 and I 6a in longitudinal channel bar [4, a relatively wide slot 3'!in its vertical leg portion and a communicating slot 38 in itshorizontal portion are provided, these slots functioning in the samemanner as the slots or openings [6 and lBa. in the channel bar [4. Itwill be evident that the hook member 35 and its co-acting connectingelement 36 will operate in identically the same manner to support thefixture A in a suspended position and yet permit the same to be movedinto a final mounted position on the hanger plate.

In Figure 8 still another modification of the manner of connecting thehook members 30 to the fixture is illustrated. In this modification thetop back plate Illa of the shell II] is formed with slots 40 and 4|,each pair of slots 40 and 4| being provided for each hook. As is clearlyshown in Figure 8 the slot 40 has sufficient length to permitintroduction of the hook portion 300 of its corresponding hook memberinto the interior of the shell and when said hook portion has enteredthe shell, its upper extremity may engage within the slot or opening 4|to mount the fixture in a suspended position with its electricalconnecting wire clearly exposed and readily accessible. It will beobvious that the fixture may be moved to its finally mounted position inthe same manner as hereinbefore described, with the underside of the topIlla adjacent the end of the slot 40 engaged with or resting upon thelateral portion 30a shown-in E-igure 7; is: entirelyeliminated:

From the foregoing it will be seenthat asimplea and-efficientmountingassembly is provided; The

arrangement is-suchthat thefixture may be completely assembled prior toits connection witl'ithe electricalleadwires C and before itis raisedupwardly for engagement with the: hook mem-u bers: Partialorcompletedismantling of the fix-:- ture'is not-necessaryin order to maketheinstallation. The fixtureis independently support s edon=the-hook-member with its upper surface r and-its-connecting wiresexposed and readilyac cessible.-- After= the necessary electrical connectionsare madeythe= complete fixture unit may be=quickly-andeasily swunginto..a finallymountei. edposition. without having. to re-attaclranypartsuthereto and without disconnecting the. turefrom thehooks whichsupport it'in its-.sus pended/position. Thehooks areso arrangedi'that ithey. not only:function .to support the flxturecin its.-.. suspendedposition but 1 also; co-act to. assist; in-supporting: the fixtureafterit has been. moved; toiits'finally mounted position; The. assembly:islvextremely simple and facilitates theinstallae tiorn-of fluorescentlighting fixtures- The: foregoing, descriptionof the invention ;,,is;.;explanatory thereof and ;various;changes in; thex:

size, shape. and materials as; well. as in the details of; theillustratedyconstruction-maybe made; within .the scopeof the appendedclaims, without departing {from thespirit of the invention;

What I claimand desire tosecure byiLetters Rate t is therefrom, saidhook element including a vertical shank having a hook at its lower endand an oifset horizontal supporting surface at its upper end, anelongate lighting fixture unit, an upwardly extending projection on saidunit at one side thereof and having a slot therein, whereby the hook ofsaid hook element may be engaged therewith to suspend the fixture fromsaid plate with its electrical connections readily accessible, the slotin said projection being elongate to permit the fixture unit to be movedupwardly to a final position adjacent the hanger plate with theprojection engaging the horizontal offset at the upperend of the hookelement, and fastening means for securing the fixture unit to the hangerin said final position.

2. A mounting assembly for a lighting fixture including, a substantiallyfiat hanger plate having longitudinal depending side flanges, a pair ofdepending hooks secured to one of said flanges, each hook having anoffset supporting surface at the upper end of its shank fastening screwsin the opposite side flange, a fluorescent lighting fixture unit, havingan upstanding projection at one side of its upper surface, saidprojection having slots therein for receiving the hooks of the hangerplate, whereby the fixture unit may be supported in an inclinedsuspended position, an upstanding flange on the upper surface of theunit on the side opposite the projection and having key slots therein,said fixture being movable upwardly on the hooks into a final positionadjacent the hanger plate with the upstanding projection engageable withthe offsets in the hook shanks which support that side of the fix- With.this: modification; the use of the separate: channel bar: I such as;shown l in Figures 1.; to 6, or: aasupporting: lugdasi- 7., ture;Isuch'. movement permitting engagement of the key slots in the flange ofthe fixture unit with, the screws in the hanger plate, whereby.

body and a supporting member therefor, said,

supporting member comprising a substantially fiat plate, a hook elementsecured to the plate at one side thereofland depending therefrom, saidhook element including a vertical shank portion having an offsethorizontal supporting surface at its upper end and a hook section atitslower end, the body of the light fixture having an openingin itsupper surface for receiving the hook element, an upright connectingmember secured to the upper surface of the fixture body adjacent theopening in said body and extending upwardly from said surface, saidconnecting member having an opening therein engageable with. the hooksection of the hook element for suspending the fixture from said hooksection, the connecting memberbeing movable upwardly on the hook elementand into engagement with the'offset horizontal supporting surface of thehook element to support one side of the fixture body in a positionadjacent the supporting plate, and means for attaching the opposite sideof the fixture body to the supporting plate.

4. In combination, a lighting fixture having an elongate generallyrectangular body and a supporting member therefor, said supportingmember comprising a substantially fiat plate having longitudinaldepending side flanges, a pair of hook elements secured to one of theflanges in spaced relationship and depending therefrom,

' each hook having the major portion of its shank in a vertical planewith the upper end of the shank bent upon itself to form a horizontaloffset supporting surface, upright connecting elements 3 onthe-uppersurface of thebody of the lighting fixture and spaced apartsubstantially the same distance as the side flanges of the supportingmember whereby the connecting elements will abut said flanges when thefixture is moved upwardly against the plate, one of said elements havingopenings therein adapted to receive the hook elements to suspend thefixture from the lower ends of said hooks, said openings being movableupwardly on the hook shanks to engage the offset supporting surfaces ofthe hook shanks with the connecting element in which said openings aremounted, and means for attaching the second connecting element to thesecond flange of the plate when the first connecting element issupported by the ofiset portions of the hook 0 shanks.

ANDREW o. LOCKEl T 7, REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in th file of this patent:

NITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,613,013 Benjamin Jan, 4, 19271,817,540 Werner Aug. 4, 1931, 2,083,426 Blitzer June 8, 1937 2,185,562Nielson Jan. 2, 1940 2,253,700 Graham Aug, 26, 1941 2,268,731 Van BloemJan. 6, 1942 2,272,176 Leinen Feb. 10, 1942 2,287,565 Phillips June 23,1942 2,336,599 Dunbar Dec. 14, 1943 2,365,614 Winkler et a1 Dec. 19,1944 2,433,819 Schribner Dec. 30, 1947;" 2,434,781 Kurtzon Jan. 20, 19482,529,990 Barker Nov. 15, 1950 2,440,603 Guth Apr. 27, 1948

